The global electronic chemicals market is characterized by rapidly changing technology and innovation. In fact, innovation plays a very pivotal role in determining the success of this industry. Electronic chemicals are the basic raw materials used extensively in the areas of telecommunication, information technology, and, very importantly, in flat panel displays.

There is a direct impact of the price, supply, and even the quality of electronic chemicals on the degree of competition witnessed by most downstream electronics industries. Electronic chemicals play a vital role in meeting the requirements of product specifications. The entry barrier in the global electronic chemicals market is rather high because of the rapidly changing technological background and the long time taken for evaluating the entire process of performance validation.

Growing at a CAGR of 6.2% from 2014 to 2020, the global electronic chemicals market is expected to reach US$62.92 billion by 2020 from US$41.02 billion in 2013. It is, however, expected that widespread implementation of environmental regulations will hamper the growth of the global electronic chemicals market in the years to come.

Business Ventures to Drive Market in Forthcoming Years

The global electronic chemicals market is mainly fuelled by the surging global demand for smartphones and also the expanding solar energy market. A few of the prominent companies in the global electronic chemicals market are Huntsman Corporation, AZ Electronic Materials, Cabor Microelectronics Corporation, The Linde Group, Bayer MaterialScience, Ashland Inc., BASF SE, and Albemarle Corporation. With the demand for smartphones gaining momentum, there are numerous companies in the global electronic chemicals market that have been investing robustly in this application sector over the past couple of years.

In 2014, Merck & Co. Inc., a U.S.-based pharmaceutical firm, declared its acquisition of AZ Electronic Materials, a Luxembourg-based specialty chemicals firms mainly engaged in manufacturing flat panel displays and integrated circuits. With the acquisition of AZ Electronics, Merck will be able to increase its participation in some of the major trends in the world of electronic materials and also have greater potential for further expansion in the Asia market.

What Role does the Solar Energy Market Play in the World of Electronic Chemicals?

The solar power market is a rapidly evolving one and is a major consumer of electronic chemicals. Over the past couple of years, manufacturers of flat display panels and semiconductors have realized that the requirements of manufacturers of solar cells can easily be fulfilled by the manufacturing process of the latter, with only a few minor adjustments.

Companies such as the OM Group and Hubbard Hall are actively engaged in supplying products to companies operating in the solar power and photovoltaics markets. These companies offer highly purified processed chemicals for the production of solar cells and other solar-powered devices. The latest photovoltaic technology makes use of electronic materials such as zinc and copper, which is proving to be quite economical and gainful in the overall solar energy market. This will drive the global electronics chemicals market in the years to come.